Game On!

Game On! Connecting Video Games and Virtual Worlds to Instruction

Video Games and Digital Natives

267.8 million units sold in 2007. ($9.5 billion in revenue)

Nine games sold every second in 2007.

First-day sales of Halo 3 outsold first-day ticket sales of Spiderman 3 and the first-day sales of the final book in the Harry Potter series.

65% of American households play computer and video games.

The average game player is 35 and has been playing games for 13 years .

38% of homes have at least one console (such as: Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo).

40% of all gamers are women over 18 (and growing).

The Digital Native Today’s High School Student Has Never Known A Time Without: CD Players Microwaves Nintendo The World Wide Web

A typical college student has spent less than 5,000 hours reading books, but over 10,000 hours playing video games.

“ The 10,000-hours rule says that if you look at any kind of cognitively complex field, from playing chess to being a neurosurgeon, we see this incredibly consistent pattern that you cannot be good at that unless you practice for 10,000 hours, which is roughly ten years, if you think about four hours a day.” -Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers: The Story of Success

What if they spent that much time doing Biology homework?

“ When I go to school, I have to power down.” -Student

Their Brains Work Differently

Maybe we need to rethink how we teach them?

How Do You Engage The Digital Native?

They crave: Social Interaction Customized Experiences Achievement Multimedia Learning That’s Relevant

So, Why Video Games?

Customized Experiences

Social Interaction

Achievement

Learning That’s Relevant

Multimedia

Serious Games: What the Researchers are Saying

“ ...the designers of many good games have hit on profoundly good methods of getting people to learn and to enjoy learning.” -James Paul Gee, University of Madison Wisconsin

“ ...within games, there are in fact multitudes of literacy practices – games are full of text, she asserted, to say nothing of the entirely text-based fandom communities online that take place in forums, blogs and social networks.” -Constance Steinkhueler, FuturePlay 2007, Toronto

“ Today's game designers have figured out something today's educators are still searching for: how to make learning engaging for today's kids. It would be a shame not to employ this knowledge in our classrooms.” -Marc Prensky

What I’ve Seen... Students in Virtual Worlds

Extreme Engagement! http://www.ljplus.ru/img4/j/i/jibo/pir2.JPG Warhammer Online Screenshot Students are leading people from around the world (often 40 or more) to accomplish collective goals. These events take planning, coordination, and decision-making skills.

Extreme Engagement! They spend hours outside of the game collaborating and planning in forums, researching maps, statistics, and strategies to improve their game.

A Level Playing Field – Who are They Playing With? http://www.ljplus.ru/img4/j/i/jibo/pir2.JPG Source: http://www.harbingersoflight.com They are collaborating, online, with people from all over the world. Differences in race, age, gender, and nationality are no longer an issue. Teacher Ph.D. Candidate Stay-at-home Mom County Sheriff Researcher Business Owner Editor for the Senate Produce Clerk Business Analyst Instructional Technology Coordinator Technology Engineer Quality Assurance Supervisor Water/Sewer Technician College Student University Admissions Representative Director of IT Network Administrator Protestant Minister

So, how are educators using video games in instruction?

Larry Dugan , a college administrator, is using the MMORPG, Lord of the Rings Online to teach Tolkien in an immersive environment.

Revolution! – a Neverwinter Nights modification allows students to explore colonial Williamsburg in a 3D, immersive environment.

Dimension-M, by Tabula Digita allows students to learn and practice pre-Algebra and Algebra skills in a multiplayer, action-oriented game world.

Peggy Sheehy’s Middle Schoolers had an in-world trial based on the novel, Of Mice and Men, in Teen Second Life.

Time to Learn? Time to Game!